Regulators should enforce building codes
Two firefighters were hospitalised last week after collapsing while battling a fire that engulfed the top floor of a three-storey residential building in the Ketu area of Lagos State. According to the spokesperson for the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olawale Afolabi, preliminary investigations revealed that the fire was triggered by “an electrical surge from the prepaid meter located at the front section of the building’s balcony before extending to the topmost floor.” We commend the Lagos authorities for the prompt manner the fire fighters were rescued as well as for containing the inferno. But they should also be concerned that tragedies like this have become all too frequent in the state. Indeed, it is a national malaise.
Over the years, we have had more than enough fire tragedies that should have helped operators of public and private places to reduce occurrences. Perhaps Lagos is always in the news because the state has developed an institutional response to the challenge. For Instance, no fewer than 133 lives and N19.72 billion worth of property were lost to fire incidents in the state in 2025, according to statistics from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS). While disclosing that carelessness and negligence were major causes, the LSFRS Controller General, Margaret Adeseye, put the number of fire incidents at 1,685 with 473 victims rescued alive. This is dreary.
